Thomas (I) Szécsényi (; died 1354) was a Hungarian powerful baron and soldier, who rose to prominence during King Charles I's war against the oligarchs. He belonged to the so-called "new aristocracy", who supported the king's efforts to restore royal power in the first decades of the 14th century. He was the first member of the influential Szécsényi family.

Career

The son of Farkas from the ''gens'' Kacsics, he joined King Charles I against the powerful

Matthew III Csák Máté Csák or Matthew III Csák (between 1260 and 1265 – 18 March 1321; , ), also Máté Csák of Trencsén (, ), was a Hungarian oligarch who ruled ''de facto'' independently the north-western counties of Medieval Hungary (today roughly th ...

in 1301; therefore, his relatives who followed Csák occupied his inherited possessions in

Nógrád County Nógrád (, ; ) is a counties of Hungary, county () of Hungary. It sits on the northern edge of Hungary and borders Slovakia. Description Nógrád county lies in northern Hungary. It shares borders with Slovakia and the Hungarian counties Pest ( ...

. He fought at the

Battle of Rozgony The Battle of Rozgony or Battle of Rozhanovce was fought between King Charles Robert of Hungary and the family of Palatine Amade Aba on 15 June 1312, on the Rozgony (today Rozhanovce) field. ''Chronicon Pictum'' described it as the "most cruel ...

(15 June 1312) when the king's armies defeated the allied troops of Matthew Csák and Amadeus Aba's sons. Shortly afterwards, the king granted Thomas the possession of

Hollókő Hollókő () is a village in northern Hungary, located in Nógrád County. The village, which was constructed in the 13th century and developed in the 18th and 19th centuries, is a well-preserved ethnographic village of the Palóc people, with tra ...

that had been confiscated from his relatives. In 1316, he occupied the Visegrád Castle from Máté Csák. He became the head ''(ispán)'' of Arad, Bács and

Syrmia Syrmia (Ekavian sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srem, Срем, separator=" / " or Ijekavian sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srijem, Сријем, label=none, separator=" / ") is a region of the southern Pannonian Plain, which lies between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is div ...

counties (1318) and the

Judge of the Cumans The judge of the Cumans ( or ''kunbíró''; ) was a short-lived legal office, then an ''ex officio'' title in the Hungarian royal court, existed since the second half of the 13th century. In 1270, the Palatine of Hungary assumed the dignity and beca ...

(1319). In 1320, he was appointed to the Master of the Queen's Treasury ''(királynéi tárnokmester)''. Between 1318 and 1334, he married one of Queen Elisabeth's relatives, Anna of Oświęcim as his second wife. Following Matthew Csák's death (1321), the king granted him several castles and possessions in

Heves Heves is a small town in eastern Hungary. About 100 km east of Budapest, Heves lies at the northern extreme of the Great Hungarian Plain, just south of the Mátra and Bükk hills and west of the Tisza River. Heves gave its name to Heves Cou ...

, Gömör and Nógrád counties; thus, he received Ajnácskő (today ''Hajnáčka'' in

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

), Baglyaskő, Bene, Somoskő (today ''Šomoška'' in Slovakia) and Sztrahora Castles. In the same year, he became the Voivode of Transylvania. He suppressed the rebellion of the

Transylvanian Saxons The Transylvanian Saxons (; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjer Såksen'' or simply ''Soxen'', singularly ''Sox'' or ''Soax''; Transylvanian Landler dialect, Transylvanian Landler: ''Soxn'' or ''Soxisch''; ; seldom ''sa ...

(1324) and the king granted him Salgó Castle (today ''Sibiel'' in

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

). In 1342, he was appointed to the office of

Master of the treasury The master of the treasury or treasurerSegeš 2002, p. 316.Rady 2000, p. 113. (Fallenbüchl 1988, p. 80. or , ,Zsoldos 2011, p. 61. , or , )General Encyclopedia of the Yugoslav Lexicographical Institute, second edition, sixth volume SKA-ŽV. p 3 ...

''(tárnokmester)'' and in 1349, he became

Judge royal The judge royal, also justiciar,Rady 2000, p. 49. chief justiceSegeš 2002, p. 202. or Lord Chief JusticeFallenbüchl 1988, p. 145. (,Fallenbüchl 1988, p. 72. ,Zsoldos 2011, p. 26. , ), was the second-highest judge, preceded only by the Palati ...

''(országbíró)''.

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Szecsenyi, Thomas 1280s births 1354 deaths 13th-century Hungarian people 14th-century Hungarian people Judges royal Voivodes of Transylvania Masters of the treasury (Kingdom of Hungary) Medieval Hungarian military leaders

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

Year of birth uncertain